Frannie Named After St. Francis
by Stephanie
(Loogootee, IN, USA)
Frannie May
We had an ice storm Thanksgiving 2003 in Southern Indiana. No one and nothing was moving that day. But for some strange reason my neighbor's dog was barking at something behind my hot tub. She wouldn't quit so I put on my snow boots and headed outside to see what all the fuss was about.
There I found a sick and disabled dog lying in her own vomit. After a quick and careful examination, I realized her leg was broken. I also realized that what I thought was a baby calf on the hill behind us the day before, was actually this dog. It made me ill to think she lay up there with ice on her all that time. Somehow she made her way to warmth, the heat coming off my hot tub and dryer vent. Luckily I have a neighbor who is a veterinarian.
He came down to take a look at her. He concluded that she was poisoned and probably tossed out a moving vehicle. After weeks of doctoring her and trying to gain her trust (she still does not like men) I was able to nurse her back to health.
I did post an ad in our local paper as well as at our veterinarian offices for her owner, not knowing if she was abused by them or someone else had gotten a hold of her. After no response, I decided to take her to get spayed because the last thing I needed was puppies. To my surprise she had already been fixed.
I ended up falling in love with her and her with me. I'm not sure why I always find the injured animals and birds, but I do so I named her Frannie after St. Francis. Everyone tells me how lucky she was to find me. I quickly correct them saying that I was indeed the lucky one.
